No invite for talks from Centre, Samyukt Kisan Morcha threatens to step up stir

The five-member committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) did not get any formal invitation from the Centre to discuss pending issues.

The SKM would make an announcement on intensifying the farmers’ stir at the meeting of the SKM on Tuesday at the Singhu border, the SKM’s five-member committee said on Monday.

Notably, the SKM had formed a five-member committee of farmer leaders on December 4 to hold talks with the Centre to resolve the pending issues. They held a meeting on Monday evening at the Kisan Andolan office and also called the nine-member coordination committee of the SKM to discuss the situation.

After a two-hour-long meeting of the four members of the committee, Gurnam Singh Charuni, Shiv Kumar Kakka, Ashok Dhawale and Yudhvir Singh said PM Narendra Modi had announced to repeal the three farm laws on November 19 and the SKM had written a letter to the PM on November 21 to resolve six pending demands.

Charuni said a five-member committee was formed on December 4 and two days have passed but no formal invitation from the central or state government has been received. Now, the next course of action would be announced after the SKM’s meeting tomorrow, he added.

Shiv Kumar Kakka, member of the committee, said the agitation would continue.

The scrapping of the laws was a victory for all farmers but the government hasn’t stepped out to resolve the pending issues, said Ashok Dhawale, another committee member.

“It is unfortunate that the government was maintaining an indifferent attitude towards the farmers’ genuine demands,” said Yudhvir Singh, committee member, adding: “We have been trying to create an atmosphere for talks with the Centre, but the indifferent attitude of the government in the past two days has disappointed farmers.